Fire departments resort to AI to detect faster forest fires

Aspen, Colo. – A growing number of fire departments throughout the country is resorting to artificial intelligence to help detect and respond to forest fires more quickly.

In Aspen, Colorado, firefighters say that the risk of forest fire has changed a seasonal concern to a threat throughout the year. To face that challenge, they are using cameras with AI to detect smoke, sometimes before 911 calls enter.

Arvind Satyam is the co -founder and commercial director of Pano AI.

“They are receiving a complete 360 ​​degree image of the landscape,” Satyam said.

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At the top of the mountains, rotating chambers scan the terrain in search of smoke. If the system detects a potential fire, the alert is reviewed by a human team. Then they are sent verified to Aspen Fire by text message or email, along with the exact location, Satyam said.

“We executed a smoke detection algorithm,” Satyam said. “Essentially look at the images to determine is that smoke or not smoke.”

Satyam said devices can also give satellite views of the terrain and overlap an image of the weather to understand the speed of wind and relative humidity.

Aspen Fire was the first department in the USA. Uu. In adopting technology four years ago, when the increased risk of forest fires began to increase insurance costs in the area, the leaders of the Fire Department of Pano AI said, officials of the Pano Fire Department said.

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“It gives us that instant intelligence and not outside of, you know, hoping that we get to someone there quickly,” said Jake Andersen, deputy director of Operations of Aspen Fire.

Aspen officials aim to have teams on the scene in five minutes, something that they say would be almost impossible without precise location data. Fire officials say that their fire teams can also access the Pano AI map on their phones while responding to calls. The system can track heat firms at night and monitor hot points for days after a fire.

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Aspen’s fire chief Rick Baleine said the device helps especially with the ground in Aspen. Baleine said that a recent example of when they used Pano AI was for the prescribed fire of Aspen Sunnyside. The prescribed fire of 900 Acres Sunnyside was turned on in April this year on the southern face of Red Mountain, firefighters said.

The department used Pano AI cameras to monitor that fire and prevent it from spreading beyond the designated area, said Baletine.

The system is now used in 10 states: Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Texas, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona and Montana. Multiple fire agencies can share alerts in those regions and coordinate response efforts.

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“Having this type of tool for our department, it makes a difference in the world to understand the conditions in which we are sending our firefighters,” said Ali Hammond, director of resistance of the community fires of Aspen Fire.